$100,000 H-1B payment extended to September 2027, but two court orders keep it from being collected

The $100,000 payment on certain new H-1B petitions has been given another year on paper, but for now two court orders stand in the way of collecting it. The outcome now depends on the government’s appeals and matters to Indian professionals hoping to move to the US on an H-1B.

What changed

The payment was first imposed by a presidential proclamation of 19 September 2025. A White House fact sheet says the President signed a new proclamation on 18 September 2026 that renews it. According to the law firm Mintz, the renewal covers new petitions filed on or after 21 September 2026 and runs through 21 September 2027.

The extension arrived after the courts had already stepped in. USCIS says the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in State of California v. Mullin, vacated the agency guidance implementing the payment on 8 June 2026. The First Circuit Court of Appeals refused the government’s request to put that order on hold on 24 July. USCIS says DHS strongly disagrees with the ruling but will comply while it considers next steps, and still plans to collect the payment if the order is later lifted.

On 30 September, a second judge, Haywood Gilliam Jr. of the Northern District of California, barred USCIS and US Customs and Border Protection from enforcing or implementing the policies used to collect the payment, in a case led by the nurse recruiting firm Global Nurse Force. Bloomberg Law reports that the order covers both the 2025 proclamation and the new extension until the agencies complete notice-and-comment rulemaking. The government filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit on 9 October.

Who it affects

Mintz says the extended payment applies to petitions filed for workers outside the US who do not hold a valid H-1B visa, and to petitions for workers inside the US that ask for consular or port-of-entry notification. Workers in the US seeking a change of status, an extension or an amendment with their employer are not covered.

What it means for you

Employers and workers planning a new H-1B filing should check the USCIS alert before filing, since an appeals ruling could change the position quickly. Anyone whose job offer depends on a new petition from abroad should ask the employer how it is handling the payment, and take advice from an immigration lawyer.